The Rams may have drafted Michael Sam to avoid appearing in ‘Hard Knocks’

There’s been plenty of speculation about why the Rams selected Michael Sam in the 2014 draft, and on Wednesday, the latest theory is the NFL made a devil’s deal with the Rams: Draft Michael Sam, and the team won’t be obligated to make an appearance on that year’s Hard Knocks.

While this could easily be written off as a conspiracy theory, it’s worth noting that Michael Sam himself thinks the story checks out:

The allegations come from veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer, who insists he has numerous sources to back up his claim. For his part, Rams coach Jeff Fisher says this theory is categorically false:

That in itself is absolutely absurd, it’s 100 percent incorrect,” Fisher said. “I was really taken aback by those comments. It’s insulting, from my standpoint, as it relates to Michael. We had three seventh-round picks. When we drafted Michael he was the best player on the board. Who in their right mind would think that you give up a draft choice to avoid doing something like that?”